The X-Ray departments of hospitals and clinics originally were equipped with X-Ray machines wherein a photographic image of the interior of the human body was acquired after the film was exposed in the X-Ray machine and was developed. Subsequently fluorographic equipment was added which enabled th clinician to view images of the interior of the patient's body in a real-time on line basis.
As the state of the art advanced digital fluorographic and digital radiographic systems have been introduced. Those systems have proven so versatile and useful to X-Ray image enhancement that almost all X-Ray departments, in hospitals and clinics and many doctors are endeavoring to equip their X-Ray facilities with both digital radiographic and digital fluoroscopic systems.
As used herein the digital radiographic systems are systems wherein the radiation detector does not include an image intensifier. Instead it uses photographic film or a similar surface providing an image fixed in the material exposed to the radiation. The image enhancement accomplished with digital radiography is performed on an after acquisition basis. The image enhancement accomplished with digital fluorography is generally performed on a real time on-line basis or on an after acquisition basis.
The equipment for either a good digital radiographic or digital fluorographic station are both expensive. It is uneconomical and often impossible for hospitals to afford both types of stations. When the hospitals which serve specific locations are not equipped with the necessary equipment for non-invasive diagnoses the portions of the public serviced by such hospitals are the real losers. The hospitals also lose the revenues generated by diagnostic imaging equipment. Accordingly those in the field are continuously attempting to minimize the cost of such equipment without degrading the services provided with such equipment.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide digital diagnostic imaging systems for providing image enhancement of both fluorographic and radiographic generated images at a fraction of the cost of separate digital fluorographic and digital radiographic systems.